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Couple found love at Dave Day celebrations

BBC Ryan Crawford and Laura Burrows together posing for a selfie and wearing their bike leathers. BBC
Ryan Crawford and Laura Burrows met at Dave Day in Barrow

A couple who fell in love after meeting at the Dave Day celebrations in memory of TV chef Dave Myers have said its second edition will be "just that bit more special".

Ryan Crawford and Laura Burrows are planning to ride the route to Barrow, in Cumbria, after the date for Dave Day 2 was announced by the star's widow Lili Myers.

Ryan was one of tens of thousands of bikers who flocked to Barrow in the summer in a procession from London led by Myer's fellow Hairy Biker Si King.

Owing to the event's popularity, Dave Day is being held again on 21 and 22 June next year.

Myers died in February aged 66 following a diagnosis of cancer.

Lili Myers and family friend Jason Woodcock confirmed it will return, alongside news that a permanent tribute has been created in Barrow-in-Furness.

Ryan, a biker and bartender, has since moved from the Midlands to the northern town to be with Laura.

Speaking to Mike Zeller on BBC Radio Cumbria, the 30-year-old said he "absolutely" would be riding at the event next June with Laura on pillion.

He said: "As soon as Lili announced the dates I messaged Laura straight away to say we have to be there.

"For us to be able to ride together next year just makes it that bit more special."

Ryan Crawford gives Laura Burrows a piggyback, with Ryan's motorbike by a road in the Lake District, with a hill in the background
The couple plan to make next year's ride together

Ryan said moving to Cumbria was "something I always thought about" after visiting his nan in the area as a child.

Laura, a teaching assistant, added they have "been excited about Dave Day 2 for quite a while".

Since the couple met they have been "going off on adventures around the Lakes" and are planning a route to go exploring in Scotland next year.

Ryan pictured with fellow riders stretching back behind him, and Laura posing for a selfie with a friend on Dave Day earlier this year.
Ryan (left) with fellow riders, and Laura (right) with a friend on Dave Day

Laura, 26, recalled she had "taken some deck chairs with friends" to sit at Abbey Road and watch the "fantastic parade of bikes coming in" on Dave Day.

She said: "I absolutely love bikes. I don’t think there's a woman around who hasn’t watched Grease 2 and doesn’t wish they were Michelle Pfeiffer singing Cool Rider.

"To be fair I think I'm just living that little dream now."

Lili Myers said the event has had a "miraculous" effect on people.

She said: "We had one couple celebrating their honeymoon on Dave Day in Barrow, and one young couple are now together after meeting on Dave Day.

"How wonderful is that?"

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